Saturday, November 17, 2012

Nittany Loins

In honor of Penn State, PYB comes in the back door for a quick rewind on the Cornhusker / Nittany Lion matchup last week. Hopefully, remembering this 'classic' battle of Titans will get your juices flowing for today's clash versus Minnesota. In no particular order, here are our observations:

--For the first time in almost two years, Nebraska's defense seems to be able to develop control of the game, sustain momentum and get the crowd involved. Is it improvement, or the fact that they've played mostly horrible offenses the last several weeks? Most likely, it's both. Still, when Justin Blatchford is seen within three yards of a ball carrier, and actually making tackles, something has improved.

--Memorial Stadium crowds seem to be consistenly louder than they have been in years. Most likely, fans have come to grips with the fact that they'll need to be shitfaced to watch another NU game and the alcohol has freed their normally stoic personalities a bit.

--Baker Steinkuhler has come on the last couple games....in a "I fucked around for 3.5 years like Kyle Vanden Bosch before closing out with a good run" kind of way. Maybe he finally converted his garage to a weight room and got serious about football.

--Taylorina Martinez actually ran hard. Of course, it came with the requisite momentum-crushing fumble, but it was progress nonetheless.

--Before dubbing Nebraska the "Cardiac" anythings...let's keep in mind all of the recent comebacks came against teams with inept offenses. Harder to come back against good teams, especially when giving up 63 points.

--Cause for concern on defense: the Nittany Lions gashing the Blackshirts' interior with simple run plays on a consistent basis.

--Another cause for concern: the continued clusterfucks that take place before the snap when the defense is on the field. Three blown timeouts in one half and continued calamities in the second stanza.

--Our biggest takeaway from Private Pinelli's first-half blowup with Daimion Stafford....Paging First Impression Orthodontics: can you donate some braces in honor of the upcoming holiday season?

--In a surprising development, Thad Randle got hurt.

--In another surprising development, Thad Randle was on the field later in the game.

--T Vagic won the PYB award for Worst and Most Embarrassing Pump Fake in the history of football--a two-handed version that looked like a Broadway musical dance move. AIDS, AIDS AIDS! Everyone's got AIDS!

--Braylon Heard had three straight carries for 25 yards, then was pulled out of the game and didn't play again. As soon as he was removed, the drive stalled. Stellar.

--Tim Beck's red-zone playcalling is atrocious. We landed on the moon.

--Imani Cross is overrated, though it seems fans and media alike are falling in love with him because he has big arms and can get one yard a carry on the goal line. Sweet.

--PYB favorite Sean McDonough, like Husker fans have for three seasons now, called for Kyler Reed right before the snap on his 56-yard pass reception. Caught!

--As we watch Taylorina get overconfident against poor teams, we're willing to bet our next paycheck that his recent rash of underhanded, panic-fueled passes (a la Brett Favre) will rear its head again and cost the Cornhuskers dearly somewhere over the next three weeks.

--Too many times, Andrew Green and Stanley Jean-Baptiste are liabilities at cornerback, looking completely befuddled when they're required to make a play on the ball.

--Two more defensive personal fouls--the calling card of an undiscplined team and one-way tickets to a loss against teams better than Penn State.

--College football instant replay is a joke. Always has been. The number of blown calls is simply stupifying.

--Matt McGloin is a whiny bitch and was a whiny bitch before whining about not getting the goal-line review to go the Lions' way.

--After 'storming' back to take a 29-23 lead, NU had good field position and a chance to close out the game. In true form, the gained -4 yards in three plays and nearly fumbled on third down.